High definition video intra-only coding based on node-cell macroblock pixel structure and 2-D interleaved DCT

With fast developments in video broadcasting and communication, high definition and high bit rate video applications with low latency are becoming more and more popular. This leads to the emergence of the intra-only encoding scheme as it can provide the required performance. Specific to these applications, a novel intra-only video coding algorithm is proposed in this paper. A node-cell macroblock pixel structure is defined and a 2-D interleaved DCT is proposed to encode the node pixels. The proposed algorithm introduces several new intra coding modes based on the proposed node-cell macroblock pixel structure. Combined with the existing MPEG-4 AVC intra coding modes, the proposed algorithm implements the mode decision through a rate distortion optimization process. To evaluate the performance, the proposed coding algorithm is integrated into the reference MPEG4-AVC codec. Experimental results confirm that the new coding algorithm can provide significant rate distortion performance gain over the reference MPEG-4 AVC codec.